Apex Current Nominated as a Finalist for "Small Business of the Year" in the BBJ’s 2018 Small Business Awards on July 26th

Some thoughts from Apex Current Founder and CEO, Corbitt Chandler...

Corbitt Chandler
Apex Current Founder & CEO

Last week, I received news that Apex Current has been nominated as a Finalist for The Birmingham Business Journal's 2018 Small Business Awards in the category of Small Business of the Year (under 10 employees).

When I realized the announcement wasn't a mistake, I sat in my office and cried. It was an extremely proud moment for me personally to see Apex recognized.

The business has grown extremely quickly and it has been an utter blessing, but it hasn't been without a great deal of personal sacrifice. As the saying goes, it takes an immense amount of pressure to create a diamond. I believe we're doing that, but we're still in those pressure stages.

So, since it has been such a wild ride (which is only still at the beginning stages), I thought I’d tell a little bit about the Apex Current story, share some thoughts as well as sort of do my first state of the union. 

I founded Apex Current on September 1st of 2017, after consulting for about six months and then opened our first offices on January 1st, 2018. I won't go into my personal back story, but if you have not seen the below featurette by Yellowhammer News, it is worth 5 minutes of your time.

From the beginning of my consulting days, this concept took off like a rocket ship. I started doing things that scared me - like absolutely terrified me. I’m not sure why... I guess I felt I had nothing to lose so it was time to pull out all the stops for once in my life. I had been to the bottom so why not start climbing and try to see what the top looks like?

As I started taking risks, I got better. With each sales pitch, presentation, talk, etc. - that fear has never gone away (to this day). I still get it and it gives me chill bumps (which are easy to see on these shaved arms of mine). But, now, I LOVE the feeling and there's this sort of thrill of the moment where in my mind, I say to myself, "bring it on!" That fear means it’s game time. It’s time to hunt (which has transcended into how I run our digital paid advertising efforts and still press buttons to this day). 

Trust me, things weren't always this way. This concept of rising to the challenge had died when I stopped playing sports in college. I hid behind the cloak of Corporate America for years and my battle with alcohol. I remember once literally trying to present in a meeting, panicking, letting everyone in the room KNOW I was panicking and walking out of the room. It's actually pretty hilarious now to think about.

There was this talk I listened to early in my consulting days where the speaker (named ET - Eric Thomas) was giving an analogy about being like a lion. I remember him saying from the perspective of the lion, “If I don’t ride, they don’t eat. If I don’t ride, they die,” meaning if a lion doesn’t hunt and kill it can’t survive nor can it’s Pride.

So that mantra began to ring true with me as I started to pursue growing Apex. Which started with the literal need of having to feed my family, and as we’ve grown, to my staff and ultimately causes we support and give back to.

That responsibility has weighed heavy, but has been well worth it. I have proven the ability to create opportunity and grow our revenue substantially. BUT, I would be remiss if I didn’t admit not without my failures. I haven’t done everything right. I’ve tried to be fair and honest. I’ve put in more hours on every client partner - big or small - than I can count. My main misstep has been spreading myself to thin. Not intentionally, but because I run very fast and hard.

We’re attempting now with solid new hires to create scale and more margin. Which for me when I talk about margin it specifically relates to my most valuable asset - time. Ultimately, that goal of scaling at Apex is so that we can provide better value by way of service and results for our client partners.

As we do this, we’ve found specific verticals where we can create massive scale. Really, the plan is for the business to split into multiple LLC’s based off these scalable verticals so we can speak to those industry's specific needs. 

Apex Current will, of course, remain only aligning with large partners who can support the expertise and precision of what we do. My goal will be 5 to maybe 10 clients on the Apex side in pretty much any business segment we see opportunity and the ability to provide results. In these scalable verticals I'm referencing, the goal is literally 100's of clients as we create our assembly line.

I’m excited about our current direction and what the future holds for us. It’s truly an exciting time at Apex and, ultimately, to be alive!

If a guy like me can start a fast-growing company after 15 years of Corporate America and ESPECIALLY one that teeters on the edge of a technology company when I was basically tech illiterate 1.5 years ago - opportunity abounds for anyone who is willing to take risks and be uncompromisingly stubborn in their pursuits.

I have to give a big shoutout to the city of Birmingham and the entrepreneurial spirit of the people who call this amazing city their home. Apex Current has been embraced with open arms by the business community. So many have jumped on board, provided encouragement, support, connected me with other businesses owners and more.

It’s been amazing to see and makes me extremely proud of my hometown and to live here again after my over 10 years spent in Los Angeles (ironically, I’m on a flight to my “second home” LA as I write this blog post).

So, to bring things back around, as I mentioned, this journey is at the starting line with certainly more triumphs, opportunities, challenges and growing pains to come. I’m thankful to everyone who has been a part of this as it moves from its infancy to a toddler that’s a little hard for me to hold onto these days. As Apex grows up, I'm learning to let go of it more and trust my team as co-parents of this thing that I birthed. I'm having to accept that this isn't solely mine anymore, but it is my responsibility to lead it well.

Being honored in our category in the Small Business Awards as "Small Business of the Year" is SUPER cool, humbling and receiving word of the nomination is truly a feeling I will never forget.  Especially with the incredible honorees in our category including; Fetch, Forge and Humphries Screen Printing. I personally know Kim Lee, the Founder of Forge, who is awesome and so incredibly passionate about what she does connecting business owners not only in her coworking space, but also throughout Birmingham.

I’m excited to attend the Small Business Awards and rub elbows with all of the amazing businesses that will be at the Harbert Center on July 26th. I'm sure I'll feel much the same as I do at this moment which is in awe that I am even allowed to be in the same room with so many that I admire.

I would be remiss if I didn't give gratitude to the people who helped the business get to where it is today. First off, my wife, Michelle, who ABSOLUTELY has played the largest part in all of this. My biggest supporter since the beginning, she bought into this idea and is my ROCK day in and day out.

Forrest Walden, the CEO of Iron Tribe Fitness, who recruited me back to Birmingham, is a friend, mentor and allowed me to begin consulting while the VP of Marketing at Iron Tribe. 

Brad Bearden, who is an absolute master-level Facebook ninja and taught me and continues to mentor me to this day. He rubbed off on me in more ways than one and taught me to do things I never knew were possible.

The rest of the list I'll go through a little faster, but all of these individuals I could write volumes on... Taylor Wyatt, President of MotionMobs, has championed Apex since we moved into The Tower Building connecting us throughout the Birmingham business scene. I owe her A LOT for helping Apex become as established as it has this quickly.

All of the Apex Current clients for believing in what we do. And, last, but certainly not least, a big thanks to Ethan Voce and the rest of my amazing team whether you're full time, a contractor or vendor, etc. - you are absolutely crucial to the business and I so appreciate you taking this crazy ride with me.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and thank you all again for your support - big or small. However long this ride lasts, I'm living my dream right now in this moment and every single day.

A BIG congratulations to all of the businesses in each category! 

Emerging Business of the Year

JaWanda's Sweet Potato Pies

Uptick Marketing

Vituro Health

Vulcan Solar Power

Wildsparq

Innovation/Technology Company of the Year

IllumiCare

Infomedia

TailWinds Technologies

Small Business of the Year (Less than 10)

Apex Current

Fetch

Forge

Humphries Screen Printing

Small Business of the Year (11-24)

City Paper Company

Directorpoint LLC

STRADA Professional Services, LLC

Truitt Insurance & Bonding Inc

Watts Realty Co, Inc

Small Business of the Year (25+)

Business Electronics

Hospicelink

KEYSYS

McDowell Security Services, LLC

Move & Store

Apex Current CEO, Corbitt Chandler, on Wealth Without Wall Street Podcast

FROM THE SHOW NOTES:

What This Episode Is About

On this podcast, and in our business, we’re all about building value and this week’s guest is providing a ton of valuable information about digital marketing.

“Digital marketing” is a term you’ve probably heard quite a bit over the past several years, but there’s still a lot of confusion around what digital marketing even means.

Digital marketing master, Corbitt Chandler, is here to answer your questions and help you understand the value of taking your business online; even if it’s a local brick and mortar business.

Take a listen to this week’s episode to find out what actions you can take today to start implementing a digital marketing strategy for your business.

Mentioned In This Episode:

• Corbitt’s journey of managing millions in sponsorships for international soccer stars to where he is now

• Why Corbitt focus his efforts on Facebook

• A general overview of what Corbitt does with Facebook ads for his clients to help them reach a new audience

• How growing privacy concerns has impacted the way Corbitt can target his ads to the right people

• The type of ROI Corbitt expects with his clients’ Facebook ad campaigns

• The main digital marketing challenges Corbitt helps his clients overcome

• Why you need a good sales pipeline in place when you’re using digital marketing strategies

• The steps you can take today to move forward with digital marketing for your business

Resources:

• Corbitt Chandler’s Website: Apex Current

• Wealth Without Street Podcast Episode 035: Networking to Build Your Business

• The Backwards Brain Bicycle

• Schedule a Call with Us

• Sign up for our next webinar: 3 Secrets to Building Wealth Without Wall Street!

• Don’t run out of money webinar coming soon!

Click Here to Listen to EP036 of the Wealth Without Wall Street Podcast.

Apex Current Welcomes EDPA and MotionMobs as New Client Partners

BIRMINGHAM, ALA. —  Performance-driven digital ad agency, Apex Current, continues to grow with the addition of its newest clients including the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama (EDPA) and MotionMobs. Apex Current’s unique approach of running ads that drive trackable sales is what attracted both organizations to become new clients.

The EDPA (Economic Development Partnership of Alabama) is a private, non-profit organization funded by more than 60 Alabama companies that works to attract, retain and grow jobs in Alabama, while encouraging innovation. In association with Alabama Launchpad, Apex has been hired to drive ticket sales for their annual imerge celebration event.

In addition to the EDPA, Apex signed MotionMobs this week, a local software consulting and development firm. MotionMobs provides business clients with a full suite of technical services to help them launch a new software product to achieve specified results for their new or established business. Apex will partner with MotionMobs to run highly granular ads targeting business owners who are in need of MotionMobs’ services.

"MotionMobs focuses on producing high quality content targeted at companies and organizations considering new technologies, and Apex is the perfect partner for us to make sure that our original content gets in front of the people who need it the most,” stated Emily Hart the Director of Marketing for MotionMobs.

On the heels of announcing Apex’s latest additions, Apex Current Founder and CEO Corbitt Chandler said these new clients will only add to the company’s value, which is based in the salient effort of delivering results for clients.

“The EDPA and Motion Mobs are literally two dream organizations to partner with,” said Chandler, who started Apex less than a year ago from the basement of his Hoover home, and is now building out a 1,600+ square foot office space at The Tower building in Birmingham.

By working to optimize digital ad placements on platforms like Facebook, Google Adwords, Linkedin and more, Chandler and his team aim to target and acquire new buyers, bridging the gap between the companies and their ideal customers.

“Being trusted with both the EDPA and MotionMobs’ advertising efforts is something I do not take lightly,” Chandler said. “It truly is an honor to partner with the EDPA for their illustrious annual imerge event that takes place during Birmingham’s Tech Week and MotionMobs is the best in town at what they do. Taylor Wyatt who founded MotionMobs is also someone I look up to and it’s an honor to now collaborate on helping grow her business through what we do at Apex Current."

---

About Apex Current:
Apex Current, LLC, was founded by former Iron Tribe Fitness Vice President of Marketing, Corbitt Chandler in 2017. They have partnered with clients in industries that include; fitness, nutrition/supplements, direct-selling, luxury travel, financial investing, orthodontics, dermatologists, undergraduate studies and more. With Clients nationally and locally, Apex’s Birmingham-based client work includes names like; Birmingham Orthodontics, Breakout Games, Iron Tribe Fitness, Dermatology and Laser of Alabama and Medjet. Apex Current’s mission is to connect brands with their audiences through powerful, results-driven digital marketing.  

Click here to watch Chandler talk about his Facebook marketing journey.

Don't Give Up: Why Sales Persistence Pays Off

(This Article Was Originally Posted on Business News Daily. The original article is linked below)

Outside any ballgame or rock concert, you're sure to find a scalper or two hawking their wares. These folks make a living selling tickets to sold-out shows, and their method of operation is always the same: Hit up everyone that walks by, and if they're not interested, then move on to the next person.

For scalpers, this strategy is perfect. Unfortunately, there are many salespeople who use the same approach when they prospect for new business. When a call does not result in a sale, they banish the prospect, never to call again. Much like the scalper, they move on.

A study from Dartnell Corp. investigated the number of times a prospect was called before a salesperson waved the proverbial white flag. Here is their data:

• 48 percent quit after the first contact

• 72 percent stop after the second contact

• 84 percent give up on a prospect after the third contact

• 90 percent wave the white flag after the fourth contact

As you can see, almost half of all salespeople quit after the first call. And the vast majority (90 percent) quit relatively soon after.

Why Sales Is the Thing Most Entrepreneurs Get Wrong

So why do 90 percent of salespeople quit so quickly? There are many reasons, and the simplest is that they let business and life get in the way. Some get caught up in busy work because it is easier than having to follow up. Others just lack the discipline to make those follow-up calls.

The fact is that 10 percent of salespeople make the fifth call, and studiesshow that 80 percent of sales are made after that fifth sales call. Which leads to the conclusion that 10 percent of salespeople win 80 percent of the business. Successful salespeople use their persistence and their stick-to-it mentality to win, and win big. In the same way that air gets thinner at higher altitudes, competition wanes after the first few calls. And the key ingredient that differentiates the average salesperson from the truly great ones is persistence: The persistence to make that first call and the discipline to make a half a dozen after that (without annoying the potential client, of course).

It's persistence that increases a client's confidence in a salesperson's ability. It's what makes a salesperson stand out from everyone else. And it's how salespeople stay top of mind when the client is ready to buy.

Successful salespeople don't expect to sell anything on that first call. They know that only a small percentage (1 to 2 percent) of people are looking to buy in a first call. They tend to be the people who are already familiar with what they need, and have already done extensive research. And if you happen to call at the right time, the business is yours.

But this is not the norm. Most buyers are not going to be ready to sign that purchase order when a salesperson calls. Most will not have time to talk, or will lack the resources or the authority to make a decision.

Rather than trying to make that sale, the goal for the first call should be to implement a follow-up strategy, a strategy that allows you to build a relationship and trust by engaging in an ongoing dialogue. Much like a relationship, you can't propose the first time you meet someone. Your goal on the first date is to make it to the second one. And your goal on the second date is to interest your prospect in a third date.

In building a relationship, you'll develop a much better understanding of the client's needs and wants. You'll get to understand their underlying problems, not just the superficial ones that appear obvious. And once the client knows that you understand them, they are yours. They won't go anywhere else anytime soon because the chances that another salesperson will come along that will be as committed is slim.

As a general rule, the more difficult a client is to get, the harder they are to lose, because stealing these kinds of clients requires persistence and discipline. And, remember: 90 percent of all salespeople don't have that.

The key to converting your pipeline into actual sales is the ability to hang in there when others have given up. It means being persistent with phone calls, emails or even a personal visit over several months. Because the longer you hang in there, the greater the chance that your competition has given up. Just remember to make that fifth, sixth and seventh call.

Anything less, and you're better off scalping tickets.

Click Here to View the Original Article.

Apex Signs Medjet and Breakout Games as Client Partners!

We LOVE what we do here at Apex! ❤️❤️❤️... We literally can't press copy and paste enough to show our enthusiasm in heart emoji's for how much we love what we do!

Now, we have the honor to do what we love for two new Apex Current family members Medjet and Breakout Games!! These are going to be two very awesome client partners and we're absolutely stoked to help drive online sales for both through our performance-driven ads.

A little about each client...

Medjet (formerly Medjet Assist) is the premier medical transport membership program for travelers. If you are hospitalized more than 150 miles from home, Medjet will arrange medical transport all the way back to your hospital of choice in your home country.

Breakout Games is an escape room with twist and turns that you and your group must figure out to escape in under an hour. Each room has varying difficulties and themes. Breakout Games has 47 locations nationwide. Currently, Apex will be partnered with locations in Alabama, Tennessee and North Carolina.

While these clients are drastically different in their offerings, their goal is the same - to drive online sales utilizing Apex Current's Facebook ads.

"Medjet and Breakout are going to be amazing partners with tons of potential." said Corbitt Chandler, Founder and CEO of Apex Current. "We'll be able to optimize the Facebook algorithm starting with the solid foundation of data both already have to learn, achieve goals and find more buyers." 

Each client will kick things off with a full day deep dive into their business hosted by Chandler. The goal with these deep dives will be for Apex to become an expert in each partner's business model and begin moving quickly to execute ads that find a steady return for their businesses.

"Both Medjet and Breakout are the premier providers in their space and our plans are to help them absolutely dominate their respective industries," said Chandler. "We're incredibly excited to have them as part of the Apex Current family and honored they're trusting us to take their digital advertising to the next level."

Please join us in welcoming Medjet and Breakout Games to the Apex Current family!

Apex Current Selected As Part of Facebook's Marketing Expert Program!

BIG DAY here at Apex Current! We have been selected to take part in Facebook's Marketing Expert Program! This is a MASSIVE WIN for our business and ultimately our amazing clients!

Apex has been aligned with Facebook's support staff through client accounts that qualified in the past, BUT for Apex Current's account to be included as part of this program is a huge honor. It puts Apex on the map as an Advertiser that is moving up the ranks and getting noticed by Facebook, Inc's paid advertising expert team.

What exactly does this mean? We're glad you asked!

As part of the Marketing Expert Program, Apex Current will have a dedicated support rep allocated to their account. This Marketing Expert will be Apex's "inside man" so to say in running successful paid advertising campaigns for any ads within Apex Current's account.

"I literally cried when I got the call." said Corbitt Chandler, Founder and CEO. "I kept getting calls from a Palo Alto area code so I assumed it was them, but I just figured we were in trouble for something! Ultimately, it turns out, we were one of our Facebook Rep's key accounts and he was desperate to get in touch with me."

In addition to a dedicated Facebook Account Rep, Apex will receive weekly strategy sessions to go through goals and improve ad performance. They will also gain access to features that are in beta mode before other advertisers and key detailed analytics that are typically unavailable to most advertisers on the platform.

"This is such a giant coup for us and our clients!" said Chandler. "We'll be able to take what we're doing to a whole new level and get even better results for our client partners. At the end of the day, that's what it's all about. We only win if our partner's ads work and this is a surefire path to their success and our continued growth."

Apex Current is pumped to begin improving their already high-performing ads and truly honored to be considered as part of the program. We'd like to thank all of our amazing clients, vendors and supporters for helping us receive this notable achievement. 

Trump’s Campaign Said It Was Better at Facebook. Facebook Agrees (via Bloomberg)

Fair warning... There's nothing intended to be political by this post. It's simply to convey the power of Facebook's marketing resources when used effectively.

The link to the original article is sited at the bottom of this page.

Donald Trump’s presidential campaign has boasted often that it made better use of Facebook Inc.’s advertising tools than Hillary Clinton’s campaign did. An internal Facebook white paper, published days after the election, shows the company’s data scientists agree.

“Both campaigns spent heavily on Facebook between June and November of 2016,” the author of the internal paper writes, citing revenue of $44 million for Trump and $28 million for Clinton in that period. “But Trump’s FB campaigns were more complex than Clinton’s and better leveraged Facebook’s ability to optimize for outcomes.”

The paper, obtained by Bloomberg and discussed here for the first time, describes in granular detail the difference between Trump’s campaign, which was focused on finding new donors, and Clinton’s campaign, which concentrated on ensuring Clinton had broad appeal. The data scientist says 84 percent of Trump’s budget asked people on Facebook to take an action, like donating, compared with 56 percent of Clinton’s.

Facebook didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump ran 5.9 million different versions of ads during the presidential campaign and rapidly tested them to spread those that generated the most Facebook engagement, according to the paper. Clinton ran 66,000 different kinds of ads in the same period.

As is typical at Facebook, employees had access to the white paper, according to a person familiar with the matter. Employees routinely publish papers so colleagues can dig into issues facing the company and learn how certain products work.

A former Facebook employee cited the information from the white paper in a memo to Representative Adam Schiff’s office in early March, saying it could help Congress ask the right questions about whether the campaign coordinated with Russia. For example, according to the paper, more than a quarter of Trump’s ad spending was tied to third-party data files on voters, and leveraged a Facebook tool that helped the campaign show ads to people who looked similar to the names on file. Clinton’s ads aimed for broader audiences, with only 4 percent of her Facebook spend on the lookalike tool.

“Did Russian operatives give the Trump campaign a list of names to include or exclude from advertising that was running on Facebook?” the former employee asked in the memo.

Republicans shut down the House of Representatives’ investigation into Russia and Trump days later, “leaving questions unanswered, leads unexplored, countless witnesses uncalled, subpoenas unissued,” Schiff, a California Democrat, wrote on Twitter. A Schiff spokesman declined to comment for this story.

But Congress is still focusing on the use of third-party information on Facebook for another reason: the company’s ensuing crisis over data on 50 million users obtained by Cambridge Analytica, a political advertising firm that helped Trump’s campaign. Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg is set to make his first congressional testimony on the issue in a matter of days.

One key question Zuckerberg is likely to face, raised in the former employee’s memo to Schiff: What lists of Facebook users did Trump’s campaign upload for advertising purposes?

Facebook is still working to unearth other information that congressional investigators have requested. The company is continuing to comb through its site to identify content posted by the Internet Research Agency, a Russian organization that used Facebook to manipulate public discourse in America ahead of the election. On Tuesday, the company took down more than 270 accounts and pages operated by the IRA that were used to spread messages to people in Russia and neighboring countries.

“This is the next step towards removing them from Facebook entirely,” Zuckerberg wrote Tuesday on his Facebook page. “Organizations like the IRA are sophisticated adversaries who are constantly evolving, but we’ll keep improving our techniques to stay ahead -- especially when it comes to protecting the integrity of elections.”

Click here for the original article. 

How to Create a Facebook Page

Yoooo!

Corbitt here... CEO and Founder of Apex Current Digital Marketing.

It looks like there's a significant amount of traffic coming to the site because you want to know how to create a Facebook page.

No problemo. I aim to please...

It's super simple so chillax. We'll get you through it one step at a time.

Step 1 - Login to your personal Facebook account at www.facebook.com.

Step 2 - While on your newsfeed, go to Pages under Explore next to that red arrow pictured below and click on it. (Side note, how cute is my daughter, Phoebe?!)

Step 3 - That will bring up all of the Pages you have liked and then hiding in the top right corner you'll see where it says "More." Click there and toggle to "Create Page." You can also simply click here to navigate to that section, but I'm all about, "teaching a man to fish."

Step 4 - Select the type of Page you are wanting to create... You can change this later if you need to so it doesn't have to be exact.

Step 5 - Once you decide the type of page you want to create, Facebook will ask you for the Category. For example, if you're a shoe company, it's going to ask you to select shoes and then what the name of your business is and you'll type that in.

After that, it really can't get any easier. Facebook will literally walk you through the process and information you need to provide.

I would go ahead and have the following information ready to make your life a lot easier and this process super simple.

- Business Name

- Profile Picture (Sized 800 x 800)

- Cover Photo (Sized 820 x 312) ... Canva.com is a great resource for sizing images and creating designs.

- Business Address

- Business Phone

- Business Email

- Business About Us / Mission Statement

- Hours of Operation

That's the basic stuff. Just to be clear, you don't need any of it. Facebook will let you proceed without it, but I would just gather it all now. An empty page, looks like your business is struggling or not professional.

On that note, I would start inviting all of your friends and family to like the page and get active posting 1 - 3 times per day. These days you have to promote posts, but that's a topic for a different time. Even putting just $1 behind a post will make a big difference in it's reach.

Alright, guys, hope this helps!

Be EPIC!
Corbitt